Title: Mayor

Municipality: Mayodan

Position Interested In: Second Vice President

Q&A's:

Tell us why you would like to serve in a leadership position at the League. In particular, specify goals you would like to accomplish as an officer or board member and indicate how, if attained, they will help to achieve Vision 2030 – the League’s future vision of how cities and towns will operate in 2030?

From the beginning of my time as an elected official in 1999 the NCLM has been a critical resource for me and in turn my council. In that election three council members and a mayor were elected. We had ZERO days of experience. We all attended the Essentials class. The training we received set us on a solid foundation that led to 12 years of successful governing of Mayodan. As I have begun my second tenure as an elected official my focus now looks to the future of Mayodan. One of my major tasks as mayor is to nurture and mentor my much younger new council members. I feel the urge to extend that to the state level as well. The League offers so much in training that can assist our members. I want to make sure we continue this effort going forward and seek to increase the number of officials that take advantage of the training. While I prefer in person training, in today's environment offering more online training might be a way to get greater participation.

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Tell us about your experience as a municipal official. You may want to include information on your service on the municipal governing body, other related boards and special areas of interest?

Following 3 years on the Planning and Zoning Board, I was elected to the Mayodan Town Council in 1999.I was re-elected in 2003 and in 2007 i was elected to my first of two 2 year terms as Mayor. During that time I represented Mayodan on the Rockingham County Economic Development Board and the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments. I also served on the Board of Directors of both. I also served a year as President of the Rockingham County Elected Officials organization.

Since my election in 2021 I have again become Mayodan's delegate to the now Piedmont Triad Regional Council. I represented the municipalities of Rockingham County on the Board of Directors to PTRC until last December when I was elected as Secretary of the Executive Committee. I am also serving on the Piedmont Triangle Brownfield RLF Advisory Group. In 2023 I was appointed to represent Mayodan on the Madison-Mayodan Recreation Commission. (to our knowledge the only recreation effort operated cooperatively by two towns.)

My special area of interest is helping Mayodan to grow. From my involvement in NCLM, I heard about satellite annexation. We have used that to great advantage for both commercial and residential growth. Mayodan is the sewer supplier for the neighboring towns of Madison and Stoneville and will be adding part of the county in the coming year. We also are Stoneville's water supplier. With those obligations, water and sewer infrastructure funding is a great concern for me. Working collaboratively with our county and our neighbors is very important for our county to grow.

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Tell us about your educational background, professional experience, and/or community or civic activities?

I attended high school at Eastern Alamance High School in Mebane. I have a B.S. Degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. My career was in the purchasing field. Beginning at Stoneville Furniture, then to Thomas Built Buses, and concluding with 17 years at Volvo Trucks in Greensboro.

I am a past president of the Madison-Mayodan Jaycees and was also a District Director in the NC Jaycees. Formerly i was a board member for the Rockingham County Education Foundation and the Madison-Rockingham Rescue Squad. From 2018-2024 I was on the board of directors of the Mebane Historical Museum. I have sung in the Mozart Club of Winston-Salem's production of Handel's Messiah about 15 of the last 25 years. I have sung in my church choirs through most of my adult life as well.

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Have You Participated in Any NCLM Events or Committees? 

• CityVision Annual Conference

• Town & State Dinner or Town Hall Days

• Legislative Goals Planning Events or Process

• Legislative Lobby Days

• Legislative Policy Committee

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Please provide any other information you would like the Nominations Committee to consider.

At my first League board meeting in 2007 I represented the smallest town in the room. Oddly enough I was seated next to Nancy Carter who was a councilperson from Charlotte. At my first board meeting after returning to office one of the first persons I met was Councilman, now Mayor Leonardo Williams of Durham. In both cases we became friends in addition to colleagues. I believe it is important for the League to be relevant to municipalities of all sizes. One of my favorite conversations at the recent Town and State dinner was with Commissioner Elvenia Wilison from Magnolia. I knew of her because I serve on the PTRC Board with her daughter Montrena Hadley a council member from my hometown of Mebane. I have found that often times the conversations in the hall or in the lounge can be as much of a learning experience as the meeting itself. Hearing a mayor talk of how much the League had helped her town recover from the brink of bankruptcy made me proud to be involved. It also was an example of how crucial it is to keep the league strong and willing to change to meet the needs of our members. It would be a tremendous honor to participate in that effort as the next 2nd Vice President of the North Carolina League of Municipalities.